This section of this document introduces information from the art that may be related to or provide context for some aspects of the technique described herein and/or claimed below. It provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of that which is disclosed herein. This is a discussion of “related” art. That such art is related in no way implies that it is also “prior” art. The related art may or may not be prior art. The discussion in this section is to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
It is well known that hydrocarbon products such as oil and natural gas are generally extracted from wells drilled into the earth. One aspect of drilling such wells is known as “completion”. Completion is the process of preparing an already drilled well for production (or, in some cases, injection). Completions frequently include cementing operations in which cement is pumped through the well bore to, for example, cement casing to the well bore. Cementing operations typically also include “wiping” the well bore. To wipe the well bore, a wiper device such as a wiper plug, dart, or ball is pumped down the string through which the cement is pumped. (Wiper devices can lead the cement, follow the cement or both.) The wiper device is designed as a harrier to prevent cement contamination with displacement or wellbore fluids as well as to “wipe” excess or superfluous cement from the string.
After cementation the well bore must be re-opened down hole to allow circulation of fluids necessary to finish the completion process. This is done with what is known as a “toe valve” or an “initiation valve”, although other methods include perforating or creating a “wet shoe” during cementation. However, sometimes the toe valve does not initiate and blocks the needed circulation. One factor that plays a role in these failures is cement left behind in the toe valve that the cement wiper plug was unable to remove.
The presently disclosed technique is directed to resolving, or at least reducing, one or all of the problems mentioned above. Even if solutions are available to the art to address these issues, the art is always receptive to improvements or alternative means, methods and configurations. Thus, there exists and need for technique such as that disclosed herein.